Our Kids are WHAT!
by lostmoonchild
Summary: Rewrite! With XANA awakened once again, it's up to the children of the Lyoko Warriors to defend Earth and shut down the nightmare that still haunts the memories of those involved.
1. Chapter 1

lostmoonchild: Hi! Since the version of this story that I had up before sucked soooo badly it hurt (literally), one of my buddies gave me the figurative swift kick in the butt to get this story rewritten. I hope to see a lot of the people that were here before as well as some new ones. Hope you guys enjoy!

**_Author note:__ Read "Hidden Behind a Mask" and "Never to be Broken" first so you guys know who my OCs are please. I don't mind answering the questions but I do get tired of repeating who the characters are so please, please, PLEASE read those two stories first. Thank you!_**

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue!

* * *

><p>Chapter One<p>

It was almost unbearable seeing the looks of disappointment that had placed itself within their parents' eyes. They had been trusted not to reawaken the nightmare that was XANA and they had shattered that trust into thousands of pieces. "We're sorry." James said softly.

Sorry wouldn't cut it this time but it was at least somewhere to start. "What possessed you kids to start Lyoko up again?" Jeremy asked calmly as he stared at the group. "Well?"

"We wanted to see Lyoko." Abby responded. "The stories you guys told us made it sound like such a beautiful place."

Morgan closed her eyes and slowly counted before responding, "Yes, but we also told you what happened here while we were fighting there. Lyoko isn't just some game that you can start at the beginning and know that you'll be okay if you die. Innocent people get pulled into it and they can get killed."

"We're really sorry, Mom." Remy said softly.

There was no point in crying over spilled milk but they needed to figure out what exactly they were going to do. How did they handle this? "So XANA shocks whoever tries to shut him down, huh?" Ulrich questioned calmly as he leaned against a wall.

"Uh huh. We tried to shut him down but it didn't work out so great." Aiko responded softly.

The adults looked at each other, each one questioning what their options were. They all had families to look after and jobs that wouldn't be quite as lenient as school. "Can't you put a virus in him, Mom? You did it once and I'm sure you and Uncle Jeremy and Auntie Aelita would be able to do it in no time." Ricky suggested.

"Back then, my little one, I just had Amaya to look after and it wasn't hard to work nights on the antivirus and the virus with Jeremy and Aelita. Now, I've got you two, Amaya, your sisters, and of course your little brother to take care of as well as a job. Not to mention there's taking care of your father and making sure the house is clean." Morgan said with a sigh. "I don't know about Jeremy and Aelita, but all of my notes regarding those kinds of viruses are long gone."

Jeremy and Aelita nodded slightly in agreement. "Besides, XANA will be expecting a virus attack." Jeremy told the young boy.

Tears began to form in Aiko's eyes. "So there's nothing we can do?" Aiko questioned, her voice shaking slightly.

"No way! He didn't win any fights before and we're not going to let him win now!" Abby told her cousin, determination burning in her eyes.

Yumi smiled softly as she brushed her fingers through her daughter's hair. "It'll be okay." Yumi told her. "Don't worry."

Odd put an arm around his wife's shoulders, feeling Morgan lean into him as if searching for strength. "The kids are going to have to pick up where we left off." Morgan said with a sigh. "I don't like the idea anymore than anybody else here but let's face it guys," she grinned slightly, "we're old."

Her comment was met with varying noises of distain, none of them enjoying the idea of being called old. "Tomorrow after school then." Jeremy said with a small frown. "We all go in together. No sneaking ahead. Agreed?"

"Agreed," they chorused.

"Now let's get going. Some of us need to be up early tomorrow for work." Ulrich said with a small smile as he ruffled his daughter's hair. "Don't worry. We'll teach you kids all we know."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

There was a sense of nostalgia as they moved towards the supercomputer, voicing memories that made them smile. "Maybe the building will fall on the supercomputer and smash it to pieces. I mean, XANA can't even keep a thousand pounds of concrete and metal off of him, right?" Abby said hopefully.

"That's what we were hoping just so you kids wouldn't find it." Morgan responded patiently.

A smile spread across Yumi's face as she put an arm around her cousin's neck. "Just think, Ami-chan," she said lightly, "we'll get to see your beloved Lyoko again."

"Only for a few minutes and don't call me Ami!"

Laughter echoed as the elevator closed around them before taking them down to the computer. "Do not kick the computer." Jeremy warned the green-eyed woman.

Morgan wrinkled her nose before poking the screen. "XANA, you bastard, we're going to have a little chat sooner or later so you'd better be ready to vanish from the face of the planet! Nobody fucks with my kids and gets away with it."

Ulrich shook his head at the woman before looking at Jeremy. "I've got this nasty feeling that your son's going to be running the computer." Ulrich said grimly. "You realize he'll need to build up an immunity too."

James's eyes widened upon realizing what that meant. "I'm not the physical type!" James protested. "Dad!"

Jeremy's face flushed slightly when he saw the raised eyebrows he was getting from his wife and friends. They all remembered what had happened and there was a warning in Aelita's eyes that said very clearly not to argue. "I think it'd be a good idea if you got _some_ resistance to XANA." Jeremy said slowly.

"Does this remind anybody of the good old days?" Morgan questioned as she sat down at the computer and began typing away.

"What good old days?" Ulrich questioned.

"You remember. XANA attacks, we kick ass, return to the past-"

"Which you kids will not use. XANA messed it up." Jeremy told the kids.

Morgan typed a few more things into the computer before smirking as she leaned back in the chair. "They couldn't even if they wanted to. It. Is. History."

They couldn't be tempted by what was no longer there but still Abby couldn't help but feel irritation. Did their parents really think they hadn't learned from their mistake? The answer was probably "yes" but still it hurt a little to know that they weren't trusted. "Well, take them down to the scanner and I'll scan you guys in." Jeremy said as he lightly pushed Morgan out of the chair.

"Forest Region first. I missed that one the most." Morgan called before they retreated down to the scanners.

When the elevator door opened again, the group stared at the sight before them. "Uh, Einstein?" Odd called.

"_What is it, Odd?"_

"We've got a little problem. The scanners are all messed up."

"_Messed up how?"_

"Like my wife took a metal pipe and proceeded to beat them." Odd looked at his wife. "Did something happen to upset you, my love?"

Morgan flipped her husband off as she moved towards the scanners, her eyes scanning over the mess. "This may take a little while. Fifteen minutes tops." Morgan reported. "Don't worry, Jer, we're going to use this as one of those educational moments."

The kids watched with eagerness as their parents began working to clean up the mess and reattach everything, paying close attention to what they were showed. "And we're done!" Yumi called when the final cord had been plugged in.

"_Okay. You guys will have to go in one at a time. Remember to keep arms and legs inside the scanner at all times."_

"Smart ass!" Morgan called playfully before letting out a surprised scream when Odd tilted her back. "Odd!"

Odd chuckled a little before replying, "So how should we do this? You fair princesses first and us knights see the kids off?"

Ulrich rolled his eyes knowing full well what his wife and her cousin would want to do. "Do you really need to ask?" Ulrich questioned as he pulled Odd to the scanners. "Let's go."

Something flashed in Morgan's eyes that told Yumi that her cousin was almost worried about getting into the scanner. "Kaji?" Yumi questioned softly.

"I'm okay." Morgan suddenly gave a mischievous smile before wrapping her arms around Odd's neck. "Odd, dearest, before you get sent to Lyoko there's something that I need to tell you."

Confusion flashed in Odd's eyes. "What's up?" Odd questioned.

Morgan kissed her husband before whispering, "I'm pregnant," and shoved him into the scanner.

Before Odd could react, the scanner door shut. _"I'm hesitant about sending you now, Kaze!"_ Jeremy called coolly. _"We don't know how it could affect the fetus."_

While she knew that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, Morgan couldn't help but feel as if the baby growing within her would be fine. "Belpois, I've been married to Odd so Kaze isn't my last name anymore." Morgan responded patiently. "I'll catch it from Odd when we get to Lyoko."

Once the all clear had been given, the two women began working on getting the kids into the scanners and transported to Lyoko. It was clear that they didn't want to send their children into harm's way but what more could they do? They were all too old to fight and had families to tend to. Running off to fight virtual monsters just wasn't in their job descriptions anymore. _"They'll be fine."_ Jeremy said as if sensing their moods.

"Shut up. Don't you know it's hard for a mother to send her child into a war zone?"

_"Then why do it?"_

"Because Odd would shoot me and my dearest brother would shoot Odd for shooting me which would result in Ulrich shooting my dearest brother for shooting Odd for shooting me which would result in Yumi…"

"Oh, shut up before you manage to get everybody in the world shooting somebody else for shooting somebody else." Yumi said laughing.

Aiko was in the scanner; Yumi and Morgan got in as well and grinned at each other before the doors closed. Closing their eyes as the familiar wind began to blow around them, the three were transported to a land where monsters roamed and almost anything could happen.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: One of my main issues with the first version of the story was that Odd and Morgan had named their first sons after Jeremy and Ulrich (I have my lazy moments with names) so I spent a lot of time thinking about how to get it so people could tell the difference. In the end, Remy and Ricky. They're the same twins that Morgan gave birth to but I'm trying to save several headaches. Some elements of the original will be kept while others will be changed so bear with me! Read and review, we'll see ya'll next week!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

lostmoonchild: Thanks for the review! Don't worry about me rushing through this time since the story's going to be written in a notebook to prevent me from just going through the previous one and copying over half the chapter. Instead it'll be written, copied, then I'll add in whatever lines I liked from the last one. Here's this weeks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Two<p>

A gasp left Abby's lips as she gazed around her new surroundings. She had heard from only stories how beautiful Lyoko was but words had done it no justice. "Like mother, like daughter." Ulrich commented lightly as he leaned against a tree. "Lyoko may never get shut down at this rate."

Odd playfully pushed his best friend before helping his sons from the ground. A grin spread across his face as he waited for them to completely soak in their new surroundings. _"Everybody okay?"_ Jeremy called.

"We're fine. Don't send Kaji or there might actually be trouble." Ulrich warned.

"Too late." Abby groaned when she saw three forms beginning to appear.

What happiness Odd had felt vanished when he saw his wife standing before him looking as if they had just come home from a long vacation. Every fiber of his being wanted to scream at her for endangering their unborn child like this. "You should have stayed on Earth if you're pregnant!" Odd shouted angrily.

"Would you rather I didn't say anything until two weeks from now when I'm demanding anchovies on strawberry ice cream?" Morgan shouted back.

While this was a valid argument, this was neither the time nor place for it. "Yell later but for now let's explain the mission to the kids." Ulrich said as he pulled the two apart.

"Mission?" Remy asked, his blue marked face holding confusion.

"This isn't a game. When XANA attacks, you kids need to get Aelita to the tower before too many innocent people are hurt or killed." There was a solemn expression in Yumi's eyes. "XANA doesn't care if somebody gets hurt or even if they die."

_But we do._ The words were unspoken yet still heard. _"Uh, guys? The welcoming committee's here. It's a crab."_ Jeremy reported. _"Coming from two o'clock."_

They could hear Jeremy explaining to James how everything was read and worked. A wide grin spread across Odd's face as excitement pounded through his body. "Can I have it?" Odd asked before giving them a teasing look. "Please, Mommy? Can I have it? I'll call it George and I'll hug it and pet it and love-"

"Take it, you clown!" Morgan laughed.

"Yay!"

"_It's on its own but keep your defenses up." _Jeremy warned the group. _"No active towers anywhere."_

Was XANA simply testing them to see if they were still strong? Had he gotten stronger while they settled down to raise their families? Dear gods above, please don't' let him have gotten stronger. Please, please give some comfort to them now. Let their children be safe. Let them win again and this nightmare end for good.

"Dad's… playing with the monster." Ricky stated in surprise.

"Bet you that Odd gets devirtualized first." Ulrich commented to his wife.

"No chance." Yumi laughed. "I remember when we were kids."

The children covered their heads as the crab exploded, sending a blast throughout the area. "You want to hit the mark on their body." Odd explained as he came bounding back to them. "There's five sectors and XANA can send monsters wherever he wants. Don't worry, we'll visit all of them."

It wasn't until they reached the Desert Region that Jeremy alerted them to something approaching. He couldn't tell what it was, only that they needed to stay on guard. "Dad!" Abby cried out when she spotted a green blob approaching.

"There's another one coming from this side too!" Remy called as he and Ricky moved back.

A scream of disgust left Aiko's lips when a green blob of slime narrowly missed her feet. She _hated_ disgusting things and whatever these creatures were, they were beyond disgusting! "Baby makes three." Yumi reported, grinning slightly at her cousin. "Sorry, Kaji, I couldn't resist."

"Lying bitch." Morgan muttered, unable to keep from smiling in response. "Belpois! What the hell are these things?"

Clearly resisting the temptation to state the obvious, Jeremy allowed his fingers to dance across the keyboard. _"You're not going to like this."_ Jeremy reported nervously.

"Spit it out! We can't keep dodging these things!" Ulrich shouted as he jumped to the side.

"_They're made from the viruses we sent to slow XANA down!"_

"_What!_"

****Abby's POV****

Despite there being no air in Lyoko to speak of, we could all still feel the anger and murderous intent that radiated from my mother's body. XANA had officially signed his death warrant by using my mother's creations against us. "Get somewhere safe!" Yumi shouted at us.

Remy and Ricky knew better than to argue but Aiko looked ready to fight her mother's orders. Grabbing her, the boys and I ducked behind a rock while Jeremy barked orders to our parents. It was strange to witness but he must have had more information readily available than we did at the moment.

A scream pierced the air only to be followed moments later by Odd hitting a rock, cracking it. He groaned in pain as he slumped to the ground and got to his feet as fast as he could before anybody got to him. _"Seventy life points left, Odd!" _Jeremy reported

Curses left Odd's lips as my mind raced. One of those creatures could hit one of us only four times before we were gone from Lyoko and that was ignoring the fact we didn't know how badly XANA had messed up my mother's viruses. Naturally the monsters weren't going to die easily considering the fact they could move their marks at will but as they exploded one by one, Aiko's screams of disgust were replaced by concern for Odd.

After the last one had been destroyed, we all breathed in a sigh of relief. "Bastards." Odd grumbled.

"_Odd, I'm going to devirtualize you now and check for any viruses."_

Anxiety filled our bodies as we watched Odd vanish before our eyes. Mom took a shuddering breath before saying, "Jer, I hate to be a pessimist but-"

"_I'll let you know."_ Jeremy promised, interrupting her.

The stress wasn't good for Mom or for the baby and we all knew it. "Mom, Dad's going to be okay… Right?" Remy asked.

Aiko puffed her cheeks out before responding, "Of course Odd's going to be okay! He married your mom, didn't he?"

Unable to help ourselves, we started laughing.

****End POV****

Soft groans left their lips when they returned to Earth, their muscles crying out from all the falls and shots they had taken in Lyoko. Odd smiled softly as he hugged his sons and daughter, knowing everybody was worried. "I'm okay. It's okay." Odd told them.

The blonde stumbled backwards when Morgan punched him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Don't tell me everything's going to be okay! You know something!" Morgan accused.

It didn't matter how many years went by or how many kids they had together, Morgan was always going to have one hell of a right hook. Odd had even come to terms with the fact that she did have a temper but would never loose her temper when it came to the kids. "Easy, Kaji. You're heating up the room." Yumi commented lightly. "We'd hate for a fire to break out."

Ten minutes later they were back in the computer room with Jeremy looking nervous. He didn't know how he could even hope to explain that their actions had teenagers had just blown up in their faces and that their children would pay the price. "What'll happen if they get hit?" Ulrich asked finally.

There was defeat in the way they were sitting and the phrase "sins of the father" came to mind as Jeremy looked at his friends. "They'll be trapped in Lyoko with the worse case scenario being permanent deletion." Jeremy said softly.

"We breastfed." Aelita said softly. "They might…"

She was grasping at straws and they all knew it. There was no way passive immunity would last this long. "A vaccine's going to be needed. There's no way in hell we're risking our children. Not now and not ever."

As they stared into Morgan's furious eyes, they knew there truly was nothing that could be said or done to stop her. Come hell or high water, XANA would die. "Come on. The little ones need to be picked up." Ulrich said finally.

We started towards the elevators and Abby stopped when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Okaa-san?" Abby asked finally.

"Amaya, promise me something." Morgan said softly.

"What?"

"Make sure XANA doesn't win. If he comes back to Earth, we'll kill him. Before he gets the chance though, destroy him once and for all."

"Got it."

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: *prepares for incoming projectiles* I couldn't resist Odd's little "Mommy, can I have?" tease! For some stupid reason I can just see Odd actually doing that just to lighten the mood a little. Okay, I'm gonna vanish just long enough to plot my cousin's demise so read and review!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

lostmoonchild: Hey! Sorry I didn't update last week, it a really crappy way to start up a repost. Life and scammers threatening to sue me (haha, they didn't like I forgot some valuable info so they couldn't rip it off) got in the way last week. Looks like overheating is trying to get in the way this week but I'm gonna be stubborn and update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

Despite having been in a relationship with his wife for years, there were still moments that Odd had no idea how to handle his wife's fury. While he was grateful Morgan wasn't furious at him, he knew it wouldn't do for his wife to be up all night when she was pregnant. "Honey, it's time for bed. You need your sleep." Odd said patiently.

"I need to make up a vaccine for the kids."

He was going to assume it was both guilt and pride talking. He never could understand why it was so hard for Morgan and her brother to swallow their pride and accept help although he was tempted to call it a cultural thing. "Jeremy and Aelita will help too. You, my love, are pregnant and need rest." Odd told her. "Maybe we can get a sample and-"

"And what? Odd, I used to design viruses that'd knock out an entire country's communication system! If XANA's using that-"

"We'll stop him. Now I know we promised to never go to bed angry but we're not fighting each other so that promise doesn't count."

Morgan wanted to believe that their children were protected from the viruses. She wanted to live under the delusion that somehow there were lingering traces of passive immunity in their young bodies. "Fine." Morgan sighed softly as she saved her work and turned off the computer. "I surrender."

Smiling as he kissed his wife, Odd couldn't help but grin. "I love you." Odd told her softly.

"I love you too."

They slipped upstairs and quickly got ready for bed. "Just promise me that you won't drop off the girls at daycare so you can have your episodes last all day." Odd said suddenly.

"Odd?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up and go to sleep."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

It was amazing to them how the world around them continued on with no knowledge of the danger that threatened them all. Of course they were all certain that government agents would have gone in and taken everything. In a while though there'd be panic and the hospitals would be filled with injured people. "Kind of feels like we're secret agents or something." Ricky commented lightly.

"Except we don't get paid thousands of dollars for every mission." Remy corrected his brother.

"Yeah, and we don't get beautiful women."

"Or stylish cars."

"Not that Mom or Dad would get us one."

Abby rolled her eyes at her brothers as she finished braiding Aiko's hair. While she shared her brother's love of cars, she didn't need some fancy car that had heated seats or DVD players installed to keep kids busy. They were just a waste of time and those seats always made her feel like she had wet herself without realizing it. "All done. You look like a million bucks." Abby said proudly.

Aiko smiled a little before glancing over at James. He was focused intently on whatever program had caught his attention although some part of her wished that he'd at least notice her. "Principal brat alert." Ricky announced.

They watched as a boy with wavy black hair walked towards them, his dark eyes focusing on the group. "Aiko, hi. My name's Charles. Want to be my girl?" Charles asked.

That kid moved fast. James stopped typing and glanced at Aiko, something close to jealousy and nervousness showing in his eyes. He was almost surprised to see the blush on her face since she wasn't exactly girlish when it came to members of the opposite sex. "No." Aiko said finally.

"It's tradition for the prettiest girl to hook up with the most popular guy in school. Since you're the prettiest girl in school and I'm the most popular guy, we really should hook up before some loser decides to make you his."

"I already like somebody else."

"Who?" Charles demanded. Whoever it was, he was going to get the guy out of the school.

Abby rolled her eyes. "See, Ai, this is a prime example of that oriental fetish deal I was telling you about that some people seem to have." Abby told her cousin. "If it has reproductive organs, is straight or gay, and is exotic then it's got to be fuckable."

Charles narrowed his eyes at the older girl. "What would you know? I heard that you aren't even related to any of them." Charles stated. "Adopted bitch."

The teenager stumbled back when Remy suddenly punched him, surprising the raven. "Don't you ever call my sister a bitch!" Remy shouted angrily. "So what if she's adopted? Big deal! Our mom had love to give and she chose to love my sister too!"

"I heard my parents talking. Your sister was adopted because her mother didn't want her and neither did her father."

"Oh, my heart just broke." Abby stated sarcastically. "I'm adopted, big deal. I'm proud of being adopted because that means somebody loved me enough to bring me into their family and if you're too narrow minded to realize why kids are put up for adoption, then you should probably go ask a teacher."

"Freak!"

"You son of a-"

_Thud._

"Jeremy Della Robbia!"

Remy stopped and clenched his fist tightly as Charles got up. "You'll regret that." Charles snarled dangerously. "I'll make your life a living hell."

"Bring it on." Ricky challenged. "You declared war the minute you hit on Aiko."

Her cousins were overprotective but Aiko wasn't about to complain right away. If only they could leave the brat to XANA's devices and just protect the rest of the world. When Charles stormed away, Abby grabbed Remy's hand. "You must have put some oomph behind that punch. Your knuckles are scraped." Abby commented lightly as she inspected the boy's knuckles.

"He made me mad!"

"He made all of us mad or uncomfortable. You can't go punching people that are too stupid to realize why somebody adopts a kid." Abby sighed softly. "No more fights. Mom will end up getting a call from the school when the brat tells his mom or a teacher."

Ricky looked at his twin and saw the anger still burning brightly in his eyes. "Mom and Dad already have enough to worry about with us going to Lyoko and the baby." Ricky pointed out gently. "Let's behave ourselves now for them. Okay?"

She knew that both her brothers had their mother's temper and tried to make sure they never did lose their cool. Every once in a while though, one of them would lose it and the other was quick to ease them back. "Bastard." Remy grumbled softly.

"Aniki, please."

Remy growled softly as he sat down on the grass and leaned against his brother. "Yeah," he agreed finally. "Ai, don't let that bastard catch you alone. I don't trust him."

"Don't worry, cousin. I don't even like him so we're okay."

James raised an eyebrow before asking, "Abby, would their dads have an oriental fetish then?"

Laughter left Abby's lips before replying, "They married Mom and Yumi. No chance in hell. All they have is an excellent taste and perhaps a touch of masochism. That irritating kid, however, was thinking with his-"

"Hate to interrupt the difference between Charles and the family but XANA's attacking." James reported. "Tower's been activated in the Ice Region."

Quickly gathering their things, the kids began running towards the factory as their first battle began.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Meh, I think it was exhaustion talking for some of the chapter (especially the oriental fetish thing) and of course I don't feel like getting rid of it cause that'll mean I'll have to think when my brain's half cooked and I'm exhausted. Read and review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

lostmoonchild: I'm baaack! Yeah, I know it's Friday and I don't have to work today! Tomorrow's a different story but that's okay since it's spring and kids can go outside. So here's this week's chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Four<p>

If anybody had been paying any attention only minutes before, they would have seen a black wisp that looked as if it may have been smoke. Of course if anybody had been paying attention, they would have seen the "smoke" surround the dog and heard the panicked yelps as the dog fought to escape.

When the dog had fallen silent, XANA's symbol flashed in its brown eyes just before growls left its lips and it began attacking other dogs before they began running towards the school.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"Run for it!"

They could hear the sound of dogs growling behind them and felt the hot breath as the dogs snapped at their ankles. Tears rolled down Aiko's face as she tried to hurry before realizing that James was falling behind. Grabbing his wrist, she jerked him forward knowingly costing herself a bit of speed. All that really mattered was making sure that nothing terrible happened to him.

"Get in!" Abby shouted as she opened the manhole cover for them and kicked a dog away from them.

"What about you?" Remy's voice was panicked as they scrambled down.

Abby looked annoyed as she shouted, "Get your asses moving!"

They heard the clang as the manhole cover slammed shut, surrounding them in darkness. The group ran as fast as they could hoping desperately that there wouldn't be any dogs in the sewers and that Abby would be okay. Why had the older girl stayed behind for them? "He just _had_ to use dogs." Ricky grumbled with irritation. "Stupid Abby wanting to stay behind!"

"Save your irritation for when you're in Lyoko!" James scolded.

"Your mom's coming, right?" Aiko panted as the got into the elevator.

"Yeah."

As James settled down at the computer and the others retreated to the scanners, they knew that they were now on their own.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Just how many dogs did XANA possess?

Abby panted softly for air as she peered down at the ground, seeing the group of dogs circling the tree beneath her. Distantly she was reminded of stories where wolves or wild dogs circled around the tree where their prey had retreated to for safety and groaned in response. The dogs may have left sooner or later but they weren't XANA possessed dogs.

Okay, the younger ones had to have made it to the factory by now and had to be getting their butts to Lyoko. She would have asked what could have gone wrong but she had seen enough horror movies to _know_ that the intended victim or victims never asked what else could go wrong unless they wanted to deal with more problems. Instead they tended to make a plan of attack and pray that it actually worked according to plan.

Okay, she could do this. If she treated this as if it were a horror movie, then the closest one she could think of had to be some movie she had seen on the Internet. The name escaped her but she knew it had to deal with an island of mutant dogs. Now how exactly did that end again?

Taking a deep breath, Abby steadied her nerves and began planning some desperate means of escape.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"Mommy, look at the puppies!"

Morgan frowned slightly as she looked out the window, seeing half a dozen dogs in the front yard growling. She could feel a sense of unease as she stared at the dogs and gently ushered the two girls away from the window. "Go upstairs, girls." Morgan said calmly as she pulled out the disks that held the virus information and pushed it in her pocket. "Go to your room and close the door behind you. Don't open it until I tell you to no matter what you hear."

"What's going on, Mommy?"

"Mommy, how come you look scared?"

She ignored the questions as she ushered the girls upstairs and closed the door. "Please tell me you don't have dogs outside your place too." Morgan said when her phone rang.

"_I'm afraid so."_ Yumi responded. _"Have you heard anything from the kids?"_

"Not yet. I was going to call up Jeremy and Aelita to see if they know anything. Then I was going to call up Odd and let him know not to do anything stupid."

She could hear Yumi laugh weakly on the other end. _"Then why is my gut saying that you're going to do something stupid?"_ Yumi asked wryly.

"Because I have Rose and Mary locked in their room with orders not to open the door until I tell them to no matter what they hear." Morgan replied as she slipped into her and Odd's bedroom to grab a knife she kept hidden in there.

It didn't matter how long they had been married or even how long they had lived safe and peaceful lives. She had never been able to break herself of keeping a weapon of some kind in the bedroom. _"And what about you?"_ Yumi demanded.

Morgan's body stiffened when she heard windows shattering and the sound of dogs barking. "I'm going to protect my babies," responded the woman as she closed the phone and tucked it in her back pocket.

The green-eyed woman could feel her heart racing as she watched the dogs' approach, their fur raised as their teeth were bared. Bracing herself, Morgan grinned with a cold expression in her eyes. "Come on, you bastards. Bring it."

With loud growls, the dogs attacked.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Aelita had never been more grateful than she was at that moment to have been living in her old house with Jeremy. At least now she could slip into the sewers and to the factory before XANA even realized what had happened. How long _that_ would last, she didn't know but she wasn't about to go against her blessings on that account.

The pink-haired woman cringed when she got to the factory and saw James frantically yelling orders. "What's going on?" Aelita asked.

"Snots! One just hit Aiko. She's okay but there's a ton of other monsters." James replied. "Remy! Watch out! Ricky, you too!"

"_Okay, that was officially the _coolest_ explosion ever!"_ Ricky said excitedly. _"Hi, Aelita! It's clear now!"_

Aelita's eyes were soft as she took the headphone from her son and held it against her ear. "Glad to know. Aiko, are you okay?" Aelita asked.

"_I'm fine, Auntie Aelita. I feel a little weird though."_

"Okay. James is going to bring you back to Earth and we'll deactivate the tower."

"_Okay."_

Aelita waited as James typed the code into the computer, her entire body freezing when an error message popped up. "What? This is impossible. She's not a computer program." James muttered. "Mom, what'd I do wrong?"

The woman moved her son over and typed at the computer for a couple minutes, her eyes scanning over the words. "Send me to Lyoko." Aelita told him. "We'll worry about the tower first."

When she got to Lyoko, she could see Aiko panicking. "It'll be okay, Aiko." Ricky said with a soothing voice as she rubbed her cousin's arms. "Right, Aelita?"

"I want Okaa-san and Otou-san!" Aiko sobbed.

"I know, sweetie. Don't worry, James will call your parents and hopefully one of them will be able to come here, okay?" Aelita hugged the girl briefly. "Let's take care of the tower while James calls your parents."

Aiko nodded and they followed Aelita to the tower, amazed to see that it deactivated itself. "What the heck… James?" Abby asked looking up at the sky.

"I don't know. XANA just… deactivated it." James answered sounding as if he didn't understand why.

"You guys go ahead to Earth. I'll stay here with Aiko." Remy said putting an arm around her younger cousin's shoulder.

"You sure?" Aelita questioned.

Remy nodded and watched as his brother and Aelita were devirtualized. "James, don't leave." Aiko whispered looking up, knowing that James could hear her.

"I won't." James promised. "Remy won't either. I promise."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"HE WHAT?" Yumi screamed, her eyes widening in shock.

Aelita winced a little and looked at the Japanese woman, seeing the pain in her eyes. "Yumi, I'm sorry." Aelita whispered, her eyes showing her pain.

Ulrich put an arm around his wife and felt her shoulders move as she silently sobbed. Aiko wasn't dead, she was just trapped in Lyoko but Yumi was making what happened with their daughter seem like XANA had killed her. "Yumi, there's still the materialization program that Jeremy used on Aelita." Ulrich said in a soothing voice as he looked at Aelita. "Right?"

Aelita nodded and answered, "I've got Jeremy searching for it right now. I didn't tell him why we need it, but he knows something happened."

"Don't tell Ami." Yumi whispered, barely managing to collect herself. "If she finds out…"

Neither one had to be told what would happen if Morgan found out. She'd be overrun by guilt and would be working nonstop to find a way to bring Aiko back to Earth. Aelita nodded in understanding and answered, "I told the boys not to tell Morgan. That way they wouldn't have to see their mother working nonstop at the computer."

Yumi managed to smile a little at the memory of her cousin working nonstop at a computer. Her eyes crossing as she focused on the screen, a pencil within arm's length so she could chew on it as she worked, some kind of music playing to help her concentrate, a pad of paper next to the computer so she could write down notes… in the earlier years, when Abby had come into her cousin's care, there would always be a sippy cup next to the computer along with Abby sitting in a smaller desk with crayons and paper. Once a picture was done, she'd get Morgan's attention and an "Oh, that's such a pretty picture! Mommy's going to hang it right here!" was heard and the toddler's picture would be hanging on a wall.

"You should probably tell Odd. That way he can help keep Morgan distracted." Ulrich stated calmly. "You know how observant she is and how well Odd keeps her distracted."

Aelita nodded and left the couple alone. As she got into her car, Aelita felt a bit guilty at the knowledge that even though they had all breastfed their children, there was absolutely nothing protecting the kids from Morgan's XANA-fied viruses.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

It had been dumb luck the dogs hadn't gotten a chance to really sink their teeth into her but she could see that Odd was still furious. He was keeping his anger constrained for the girls but there was still something else in his eyes that told her something was wrong. "I already apologized." Morgan grumbled softly as she poked at her ice cream. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I told you that Yumi just wanted to make sure that we were all okay."

"Abby called. She sounded upset."

"XANA used dogs. You know how much she likes dogs. All the kids like dogs so it was a low blow."

He was blowing smoke and they both knew it. "Remy's still in Lyoko." Morgan stated patiently as she looked at him. "If it was Ricky, I wouldn't be surprised."

Crap. "Remy found something he liked there. He wanted to study it." Odd tried to tell her.

"Uh huh. What happened?"

"Nothing." Odd said again as one of the girls came into the room.

He was lying still but her questioning would have to wait until later. Right now she needed to play the mommy role and the role of wife would wait until they were alone in their room.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Since my schedule's starting to pick up again (yay!) I'll be working on chapters when I can. Guess that means that my oneshots (when they happen) will slow down again to an almost stop. So read and review, I'll see you guys next week!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

lostmoonchild: I actually spent some time thinking about this chapter and how to improve the story since the last couple chapters were crap (I'll even admit that) so we'll see how this goes. Reviews help me see what's going on so feel free to leave a review signed in or not. Anyway, here's this chapter so hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

Some part of her supposed that they had all thought of this as a video game instead of a serious situation where the lives of millions rested on their shoulders. She wished that they could go back to the day they snuck into the factory and make the choice to destroy the computer. If that had happened, if they hadn't been stupid and restarted Lyoko with disregard to their parents' warnings, this wouldn't have happened.

They couldn't go back to the past and they couldn't change anything. They had messed up, XANA had woken up again, and she was now part of Lyoko's program. She was trapped inside a virtual prison that was beginning to seem like a virtual hell with each passing day.

Aiko sat in the Mountain Region, her dark eyes staring ahead but not seeing the area around her. She wondered if anybody had realized she was missing and what kind of excuse her parents had given the school for her absence. Had they claimed she was sick and needed plenty of bed rest? If they had, what kind of disease did they claim she had caught? How many diseases were there in the world that demanded bed rest for long periods of time?

Her hands clasped over her heart as her thoughts wandered to her family and friends. She wanted to be home with them but for now she'd have to settle for when they were able to come to Lyoko. Her thoughts drifted over to James as she wondered if he'd be able to find a way to bring her back to Earth. If he couldn't, would he come to Lyoko to visit her or would the differences between worlds keep them apart? She was only a girl, an eleven-year-old girl who barely understood her changing body. She knew nothing of relationships and she doubted that James did either or that he even felt the same way.

The thoughts alone were enough to make her heart begin to break and her eyes burn with the desire to let tears fall. Logically she _knew_ they were probably too young for any relationship to be considered anything more than simple puppy love or a crush but that still didn't keep her heart from aching.

A gasp left her lips when she saw a solitary figure approaching, her gut twisting in anxiety. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could, ducking behind a large pile of rocks. It was night on Earth and nobody would be coming to visit which meant that it was one of XANA's creations.

They called that particular creation XANA's Boy Toy or XBT for short. It had been Abby's offhanded comment that gave the creation its name and it had stuck. None of them were entirely sure why XANA had created a monster that resembled a human but the current theory was that they'd feel sympathy and let themselves believe that it was nothing more than another poor human that had gotten caught in Lyoko.

"Surprise."

A scream left Aiko's lips as she swung her kunai, her muscles flexing as she jumped away from the monster. With dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes, she supposed that the monster could have looked fairly decent in the real world if he had been truly human. If it weren't for the fact that this monster seemed to represent everything they feared, they would have probably tried to reprogram it to work against XANA. "Leave me alone." Aiko said as she tried to keep the fear from her voice.

The monster advanced and frowned when she threw her kunai at him. "No, no, no. That's not very nice." XBT said with a cold smile as he grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her to him. "Master wants to see you, Aiko Stern. He thinks you'll be very useful in destroying the world."

She didn't know if XBT had the same anatomy as a human male but in a moment of desperation, she kneed him in the groin. Her dark eyes widened in fear when she got no response and screamed as she tried kicking him repeatedly. "Help! Somebody help me!" Aiko screamed desperately.

"I think you need to relax, and so does my Master." XBT growled, all pretenses of pleasantry gone from his voice.

"_James!"_

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

James woke up with a start, his body shaking and coated in a thin sheet of sweat. Outside he could hear the crickets chirping in the night and a few dogs barking in the distance. He could have sworn he heard Aiko screaming for him but surely that was impossible. She was trapped in Lyoko and he was in his own room on Earth.

Feeling as if he should probably check on the Japanese girl, James slipped over to his computer and turned it back on. When everything was online, he softly began calling Aiko's name not wanting to wake his parents. "Ai? Aiko, are you there?" James called softly.

He waited for almost an hour before he sighed to himself. She was probably trying to find some way they hadn't thought of to escape and just couldn't hear him. If that was the case, then why did his gut feel so heavy? For a moment he considered calling Abby and having her man the computer while he went to Lyoko but the older girl absolutely _hated_ being woken up. Morgan and Yumi swore it was her blood type but he failed to see what blood types had to do with personality.

Shaking the thought away from his mind before it could fully take root, James crawled back into bed and closed his eyes as he snuggled into the pillow. The nagging feeling in his gut was strong but his exhaustion was stronger and he was plagued with nightmares of the girl screaming for him to help her.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"So what do you think?" James asked the next day when he told his friends what he had dreamed.

"Classic guilt." Ricky said with a knowing look. "Look, James, you can't beat yourself up over what happened to Aiko. It's not like you can throw up a barrier to protect us every five minutes and our parents are working like crazy trying to find a way to bring her back before Mom finds out."

Abby closed her eyes for a moment before answering, "When Mom lived over in the States with Queen Bitch and King Bastard, she'd sometimes cry for Uncle Sano to help her. No one really knew at first why Uncle Sano would stop doing whatever it was he was doing but afterwards he'd say it was cause Mom was being hurt."

"So?" James asked.

"One summer he told Mom to write down when she'd scream for him to help and he'd write down when he heard her screaming. A few years later they were able to compare some pretty good data and decided there was a bond they forgot about ages ago." Abby shrugged. "Sometimes two people just have that connection, you know?"

He knew the older girl liked science fiction and horror but something like that just wasn't logical. "Let's not go with the voodoo witchcraft thing, Abby." James said with a frown. "That just isn't possible."

"Right, and our parents being able to do weird shit like blinding someone with light or darkness is totally normal. That's why we can't talk about it to other people or chance some government trying to nab our parents and perform experiments." Abby leaned against the bench. "Someday, James, you're going to realize that there's more to life than just scientific evidence. Science can't explain why a declared stillborn baby came back to life after the parents said stuff like the twin was okay and did the kangaroo thing as they said their goodbyes."

"Kangaroo thing?" Remy asked.

"Skin to skin contact. It's supposed to be good for preemies but it's good for even a full term baby. Supposed to help with bonding or something like that." Abby shrugged slightly. "My point is that you can't depend on science for explaining everything. If you heard Aiko screaming for you, then she may have been. After school we'll go to Lyoko and find out for sure."

Remy shoved his brother slightly before the twins directed the others' attention across the yard. There, standing alone under a tree stood Aiko with a strange look upon her face. Narrowing her eyes slightly at them, she turned and walked into the school as if she no longer wanted anything to do with them.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Personally I do think that science can't explain everything which gets kind of amusing when they try and fail. So anyway, reviews do help (believe me, I love to read them) so read and review!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

lostmoonchild: Thanks for the review! Um... I really don't see there being any lemons in this story since the younger kids are like 11-12 years old and Abby's 16-17 years old but if anybody has any oneshot pairings that they'd like to see, hit me up and ask since every once in a while I will do a request.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

Aiko's cold attitude continued on through their classes leaving the boys confused as to what they had done to upset her. This wasn't like their Aiko to pretend that they didn't even exist or to even be this upset at them. The worst she had ever done when she got upset at them was called them idiots and maybe even slap them. The silent treatment just _wasn't_ something she did.

The boys waited until lunch before Remy and Ricky grabbed their cousin's wrists and pulled her outside where Abby was waiting. "What's going on, Ai?" Remy asked. "How'd you get out of Lyoko?"

"I don't have to tell you!"

"Aiko, if there's a backdoor from Lyoko to Earth then we need to know about it." Abby tried to reason. "What's gotten into you?" Her voice dropped. "Is it _that_ time?"

"No!"

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing! I'm just sick of hanging around a bunch of idiots!"

Okay, so calling them _all_ idiots in one go wasn't like Aiko. If she had been calling just one or two of them an idiot, they wouldn't have been too worried but she was calling them all idiots. "We're sorry we left you in Lyoko but what else were we supposed to do? We couldn't materialize you." James told her. "Aiko, what's going on?"

Aiko's body stiffened in anger, her eyes telling them that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. "Just leave me alone!" Aiko said as she stormed away.

The remaining four stared in amazement as if they hadn't fully grasped what had just happened. "Um, Abby, did Aiko just shout at us and tell us to leave her alone?" Ricky asked in amazement.

Abby's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment before she answered, "Something's going on. Aiko would _never_ shout at us like that. For now, guys, let's keep an eye on her. Subtly so we're not chancing getting into trouble."

James looked in the direction Aiko had gone, his eyes showing a troubled look. He knew he had heard Aiko screaming at him for help but her screams had been more terrified and crying for help. This wasn't right somehow and they all knew it. They just didn't know what exactly was wrong.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

It was almost too easy to notice that they were watching, searching for anything that would tell them what was wrong and it was really beginning to make her mad. Was it really so hard to believe that she wanted them to leave her alone? Probably was considering the fact that they were all so stubborn.

Aiko glanced over at the three boys and watched as they suddenly looked away as if they hadn't been watching her. _"Leave them alone!"_ A voice screamed, startling the girl.

Her body trembled softly as a vague feeling of _knowing_ the voice jerked at something deep within her core. "Aiko, are you okay?" The teacher asked with a concerned look.

"I... I don't feel very well. May I go to the nurse's office?"

"Of course. Would you like someone to escort you?"

"No, I'll be okay."

Shakily gathering her things, Aiko left the classroom.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

It was probably a sign of some sorts that the science lab had the misfortune of having potassium shoved down the drains. Each of the sinks and pipes had exploded with several students being startled. The few that had been unfortunate had already been taken to the hospital to get some of the sink parts removed. Thankfully Abby had escaped with a few minor scratches and was free to wander around the grounds until her next class.

Her interest was perked when she saw Aiko running into the woods, her face dangerously pale. What was going on? Deciding to see what was going on with her younger cousin, Abby began to follow.

It was clear that something was going on since a few times the girl would stumble and nearly fall only to crash into a tree. "Shut up!" Aiko hissed when she collapsed in a clearing. "Shut up, you stupid little girl!"

Whom was she talking to? There was no one else around and Abby hadn't even made her presence known as of yet. Was it possible that Aiko was having some kind of schizophrenic moment? Was that the reason she had been so cold earlier? Just what exactly was going on? "I said, _shut up_!" Aiko's hands covered her ears as she screamed.

No, this wasn't possibly schizophrenia. This was something else entirely and it sent chills through her entire body. This wasn't Aiko but at the same time it was. Was it possible that this was XANA's doing?

A tingling sensation went up the older girl's spine, telling her that it was about time to leave. If she stuck around then something terrible surely would happen. Watching as her cousin slipped into the manhole, Abby ran back toward the school.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"She was screaming at a girl but there was no one there." Remy's tone was flat as he looked at his older sister. "Abs, are you sure you didn't see anybody there? I mean, I'd hate to suggest to any of the adults that Lyoko causes brain damage. Ow!"

Remy rubbed his sore head as Abby shook her sore hand. "Shut up." Abby said with a frown. "Something felt off about it."

James typed at his computer for a few moments before saying, "Well, she's back in Lyoko but there's something off on the readings. It's like there's a glitch or something in it."

The group glanced at each other before nodding in an unspoken agreement. "Well, let's get to the factory and to Lyoko. We can try to figure out what's going on now." Ricky said hopefully. "C'mon, let's go."

James watched as the area around where Aiko stood seemed to scramble as if someone were taking a magnet to the computer. A breath escaped his lips as he watched the three others move toward her, their own marks beginning to waver and scramble. "Don't get too close, guys. Everything's scrambling around her and I don't know what's going on yet." James warned them. "What do you guys see?"

"_Remember that one year we hid Aiko's one doll and told her that a were-rabbit ate it?"_ Remy asked. _"And she beat everything up that was within her sight?"_

"You mean when your mom spanked your butts so hard that when you dropped your pants, your butts were red? Yeah, I remember that." James responded.

"_Yeah, it's about like that except she's still screaming bloody murder at whoever it is that's pissing her off."_

For now he knew it was just an observation but he could still hear Aiko screaming angrily. A chill went down his spine as he caught bits and pieces of what she was shouting. _"Get out of my head!"_ Aiko screamed.

James sat up in his chair as he watched the area around Aiko settle itself for a moment before scrambling again. "You guys have company! Looks like XANA's sending his messenger boy to visit."

"_Oh good. I've been wanting to beat the hell out of that freak."_ Abby said happily. _"How far away is he?"_

"About two minutes away. He's coming in from twenty degrees north, seven degrees west."

With his stomach beginning to twist, James braced himself for the inevitable battle that was about to unleash itself upon Lyoko.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Okay, so I've come to the official conclusion that I really shouldn't watch Code Lyoko before bed or I'm going to start dreaming about being in the Forest Region and watching XANA erase it. Then of course while I was dreaming that, my phone started playing "Lord Millennium is in search of you, searching for the Heart now have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him, I'll see if it's true." so that resulted in one authoress waking up in a hurry. Hope everybody has a happy Easter! Read and review!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

lostmoonchild: Hey, guys! Okay, so before we get this party started I have an announcement to make. I may not update next week due to potentially having no internet next Friday. Some things came up and hopefully they'll be resolved before too long. With that said, here's the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

Remy remembered something that someone had told him once about watching out for short people. They were all cute until angered and by the time anybody realized what happened, they were either bitten or on the ground holding their crotch. While Aiko wasn't exactly short, she was the smallest one currently in Lyoko and a force to be feared. She was even more of a force to be feared if XANA had gotten his hands on her.

Anger surged through the preteen as he ran toward his cousin, dodging the various monsters that were firing at them. Distantly he could hear James shouting at him not to be stupid and could hear his brother and sister chasing after him. "Let my cousin go!" Remy shouted as he punched Aiko.

The girl flew backwards before catching herself, her eyes narrowing dangerously as a black mist formed from behind the girl. Remy's eyes widened as he stepped back, suddenly not feeling as tough as he had felt moments before. He didn't make it a habit to beat up on girls but he didn't like the way that the shadow was forming around her. It somehow felt ominous and it made him feel sick to his stomach. _"Don't get caught in it!"_ James shouted. _"I'm calling the parents in to help! This isn't looking good and I don't think we're going to be able to handle it alone."_

"Are you calling us weak?" Abby shouted back angrily.

"_I'm saying that I'd rather have Mom, Ulrich, and Yumi going after whatever that shadow is!"_

"We don't even know if their powers work in Lyoko!"

"_And we don't even know if they don't! Either way we have help!"_

Sometimes she wondered how in the world James could be so careful when the rest of them were more than content with just rushing into things. "Fine! Do what you want." Abby said as she began shooting at XANA's monsters.

The air was filled with red laser beams and random weapons as monster parts began to litter the ground only to vanish moments after. "Leave me alone, you stupid brats!" Aiko shouted as the dark shadow attacked them.

"Remy, watch out!" Ricky shouted as he jumped and pushed his brother to the side.

A gasp left the twins' lips as the shadow made contact with Ricky, successfully devirtualizing him. "Ricky!" Remy shouted in horror before anger crossed his features as he looked at Aiko. "You are so dead."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Coughs left Ricky's lips as he lay on the floor in front of the scanner, his heart racing as his abdomen ached in memory of being struck. He'd have to remember to stay on Aiko's good side if that was the real strength she possessed and not just XANA's strength. At least now they knew for certain that XANA had gotten his hands on Aiko and that he was the reason why she had been acting so weird. _"Ulrich! Are you okay?"_ James shouted.

For him to be shouting his given name and not his nickname, James must have been terrified. "I'm sore but I'm okay." Ricky said as he slowly moved toward the elevator.

"_Hurry up and get up here. I have an idea but I need someone to help me."_

"We're not shutting down Lyoko with everyone still on it, are we? I'd rather not get killed or sent away for the rest of my life." Ricky grumbled as he leaned against the elevator wall.

James didn't reply and it made him nervous. As soon as he stepped foot into the large room, he could see that James had pulled up a new card. "What's that for?" Ricky asked.

"It's my card. I've already set everything up so all you have to do is virtualize me into Lyoko." James explained. "The parents are all on their way but it's going to take a little time. Hopefully we'll be able to buy the time they need to get here."

"When you say 'the parents' just which parents do you mean?" Ricky asked.

"All of them."

Crap. "So why am I manning the computer now?"

"Because I've got an idea and I need you to man the computer since I'll be trying to get into Lyoko again."

James and Lyoko didn't go well together and both preteen boys knew it. "You're not just doing this to get the girl, are you?" Ricky asked finally.

James looked at his friend for a moment before answering, "I'm doing it to _save_ the girl."

Nothing good would come out of just punching the smaller boy _now_ but he'd probably be able to save the punch in the nose for later. "Fine. Just so we're clear that if your face is going to be a reflection of her heart. You break her heart, and I'm breaking your face." Ricky grumbled as he slid into the chair.

"I really wouldn't expect it any other way."

Feeling his stomach twist in nervousness, James went to the elevator and down to the scanners. Taking a deep breath as the scanner closed around him, James could hear Ricky's slightly trembling voice over the speakers. _"Scanning, James. Virtualization."_

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"You did not just do what I think you just did!" Abby screeched at her brother as James' form began to appear.

"_He said he had an idea and that we need to buy the parents some time to get here!"_

Remy blocked the attacks as Abby fired her guns at Aiko, desperately trying to make her cousin stop. "You are such an idiot!" Abby yelled at James when he landed on the ground.

James looked at his hands in amazement before looking at Aiko. His heart clenched tightly when he saw the dark shadow still radiating from the girl. "XANA." James said, trying to keep the trembling out of his voice.

An evil grin spread across Aiko's face as her eyes flickered with XANA's symbol. "I see you figured me out. Considering the violent nature of humans always supplying me with more and more souls, I'm not overly surprised you _children_ turned on your own flesh and blood." XANA said coolly.

"Shi." Abby hissed as she prepared to start shooting again. "Can't get enough of Lyoko?"

"Hold on a minute! 'Shi' as in the demon or whatever that tried killing Mom and Dad and the others when they were kids?" Remy's voice shot up to a squeak as he stumbled backwards. "That Shi?"

"The one and only." Aiko responded coldly.

Not good. This was seriously beyond bad. This was walking undead plus psychotic clones plus whatever else bad! There was no way they could even hope to defeat this psycho! "Shit. Shit. Shit! Shit!" Remy shouted.

"Shut up!" Abby snapped at him, her eyes never leaving Aiko. "Remember, Jeremy, all we need to do is buy some time. James, what exactly did you have in mind?" She waited a moment for an answer. "James! What the-"

The Japanese girl froze when she saw a light-colored mist radiating from James, a silent wind making the mist swirl softly around him. Distantly some part of her realized that he looked almost like a prince going to war for someone he loved and wanted to save while another part of her wondered what exactly was going to happen. "Stay away." Aiko said softly as she stepped back.

"What's wrong, XANA? Don't you think you can stand your own against a weakling like me?" James asked as he calmly stepped forward. "I'm not a fighter. You know that and I know that. Why are you cowering?"

He really didn't understand where his confidence was coming from but he wasn't about to question it. A feeling of comfort went through his body as James felt the mist surrounding his body touching Abby and Remy. They were tired and afraid, but he at least knew they were safe. _"Amazing! Your life points are going back up!"_ Ricky shouted excitedly.

A snarl left Aiko's lips as the black mist attacked, crashing against the light-colored mist that surrounded the three humans. "Ricky, what exactly are you seeing up there?" Abby asked slowly.

"_Remember when we stuck a magnet on the television and we had that green and red spot on it afterwards so Dad had to get a new television before Mom found out?"_ Ricky asked.

"Yes."

"_Yeah... It's like that."_

Abby and Remy watched in both horror and amazement as the two mists began mixing, attempting to push the other back. From the look of horror that appeared in Aiko's eyes as the light-colored mist approached, it was clear that James was going to win. "I know you don't want to hurt your precious sweetheart." Aiko said coolly. "Think about what will happen if your little attack hits me. It'll be her that suffers."

Somehow he doubted that. James could see _their_ Aiko fighting against XANA and knew that she was trying to keep him from winning. "Somehow I don't think so." James responded as he moved closer. "Aiko won't hurt me. Her name means 'love child' so I can tell you now that she lives up to her name."

"Stay away!"

Abby felt her entire body stiffen as James held Aiko close, the light mist surrounding both preteens. She knew there were romance novels written that told a beautiful story of a forbidden love between enemies but this was _not_ something she ever wanted to see! One just _didn't_ fall in love with XANA!

The ground shook as an almost _demonic_ scream tore itself from Aiko's lips as the light mist entered her body, forcing out the black mist. Remy felt his body stiffen as the black mist tried to attack them only to be stopped by the light mist. He could feel his stomach churning and fell to the ground when the black mist vanished. Would it come back?

Distantly they could hear Ricky talking to their parents as the light mist faded away to nothing. Aiko shivered in James' arms as she clung to him, her eyes closed tightly as if she were fighting back tears. _"Are you kids okay?"_ Jeremy called from above.

"Yeah. We're good." Abby responded. "We're all okay now."

Unable to stop herself, Aiko merely clung to James as she began to sob. One nightmare had ended while another greater than the one that had gone before was beginning once more.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Ahhh my back hurts now. Okay, so I'm gonna finish updating stories then it's off to bed for me. Hopefully I'll be able to see you guys next week so go ahead and feed the authoress some reviews, okay?<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

lostmoonchild: Konbanwa! So things managed to get worked out so here I am updating late Friday night when all I wanna do is read "Junjou Romantica" since my computer sucks and won't let me watch it online. So here's chapter eight!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

"This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever." Jeremy said as he listened to what the kids had found out. "We defeated him. All that's left is XANA."

"And even he isn't staying dead." Morgan grumbled.

Ulrich looked at his wife, seeing the anxiety in her eyes as she stared at the supercomputer. There were no words to describe how upset she was at the whole situation but couldn't help but still wonder what chance they had. "All I can think of is sealing him." Yumi admitted before looking at her cousin. "Kaji?"

"What're you asking me for? You guys didn't think I needed to know that Aiko had been hit by one of my viruses so what difference would this make?"

They all knew that the woman was furious that none of them felt she needed to know so nobody bothered arguing. "Please." Odd said softly as he held his wife. "We'll talk about it tonight. Right now we need to keep our heads and figure out what's going on."

Morgan nodded slightly before wrapping her arms around Ricky and held him tightly against her. "Honey, what exactly did you see on the screens when James did that attack?" Morgan asked.

"It was so cool! Okay, so the screen was all shaky and stuff and looking like someone stuck a magnet to it around Aiko then James showed up and it was like someone took that spray snow stuff that we put on the Christmas tree and windows and sprayed it on the screen over Aiko and everybody. Then Abby and Remy's life points went up."

It was really a wonder how exactly her sons could possess actual intelligence then as soon as something really grabbed their interest, they reverted to Odd's excitement and vocabulary. If Odd ever had any doubts regarding the paternity of their children, Morgan supposed the only proof the blonde would need was how all four of his children talked when excited. "What I want to do is figure out what exactly James did and how far he can take his abilities." Jeremy told them as he began typing at the computer.

"You're not going to start playing with XANA's toys again, are you?" Yumi asked. "You know he hates that."

"Right now I'm trying to see if there isn't a sector that we haven't discovered before. Somehow Shi got himself embedded into Lyoko and mixed with XANA. What if we were wrong all these years and they're just two separate entities?"

Morgan frowned slightly as Aelita's eyes flashed with fear. "And they combined to form one enemy?" Aelita asked softly.

"For a while anyway. Then they separated after Lyoko was shut down but part of XANA lingered within Shi."

Odd groaned as his brain began to ache at attempting to understand their logic. "Dumb it down for the rest of us." Odd groaned.

"Remember me trying to explain that cell memory theory to you?" Morgan asked impatiently.

"Yes."

"It's basically like that except they became each other's donors. As long as XANA's around, Shi's around and vice versa."

"Ah."

None of them understood how those two could be opposites in practically everything and still have a functional relationship. "So while the kids take out XANA, we need to take out Shi." Ulrich said with a frown. "I'm not liking that idea."

"Especially since one of our members is currently pregnant." Aelita said softly. "We can't risk the baby."

"Lock me up for fetus endangerment and I'm going to be pissed." Morgan warned them.

"_Um, can we focus on what exactly happened with James and Aiko?"_ Abby called from Lyoko. _"I mean, I get that getting rid of Shi's important but I'm kind of more worried about how we're going to get Ai back to Earth."_

"Working on it, Abby." Jeremy said as he kept typing away. "Okay, there's a tower about thirty-two degrees east, seven degrees south. Go to that one so we can do a full scan to see what exactly's going on."

"You don't think . . . " Aelita breathed softly.

"It's possible." Morgan confirmed. "I mean, he _is_ your kid."

And again they were talking in genius. Odd sighed as he leaned against the wall next to Ulrich, seeing that the brunette was getting annoyed by the genius talk as well. "Any idea, Odd?" Ulrich asked.

"Not a clue."

"So how do you think we're going to do this? I mean, what are the odds that there's gonna be two fights going on at the same time?"

Ulrich shook his head slightly before answering, "I don't know and I really don't want to think about it right now. All I want to think about is how we're going to help Aiko. XANA's pumped her full of viruses and it's clear that our resident geniuses have some idea."

"I know. Look at Jeremy go. He's practically melting the keys with the typing."

"I heard that, Odd." Jeremy commented. "And so you know, I doubt human fingers could produce enough friction to heat and melt the keys of a computer. Wear away the letters, yes, but not melt them."

"Hey! If a guy can get burns from moving around on the carpet then- Ouch!" Odd yelped when Morgan threw her shoe at his head.

Morgan gave her husband a dirty look, silently warning him to keep his mouth shut if he expected to get lucky any time in the near or distant futures. "You're so whipped, Odd." Ulrich chuckled softly.

"Yeah, yeah. People keep saying that but I think she keeps me in line cause she's heard all those stories from my single days! Probably a good thing we thought the other was cute."

"And all the while her brother's looking at you thinking, "Dear God, let this idiot be a phase." The joke was apparently on him when he heard you two were serious." Yumi teased.

Odd huffed slightly before answering, "He stopped praying for a divorce after the boys were born at least."

"I think he's more afraid of your wife than he was of you." Yumi responded.

The blonde shrugged slightly as he watched his the three other adults gather around the computer. He really didn't understand what was so interesting that they were looking at but he supposed that they were studying either James or Aiko. Maybe even both considering how eagerly they were talking. "Aiko's gonna be okay, right?" Ricky asked as he looked up at his father.

"Sure. XANA and Shi might be a couple of idiots but they can't be stupid enough to deal with a pissed off mother." Odd commented with a grin as he ruffled his son's hair. "In this case, they've got _three_ pissed off mothers foaming at the mouth to tear them a new one."

Of course nobody pitied their enemies in the slightest for that one. All Ulrich wondered was why exactly the three resident geniuses were getting excited. "What's going on?" Ulrich asked.

"It's amazing! Honestly, Ulrich, I've never even dared to _imagine_ that this was possible!" Morgan exclaimed, her eyes flashing with excitement.

"Then it's good?" Yumi asked.

"It's beyond good. It's so epically good that _infinity_ doesn't even begin to cover it."

Aelita leaned against a wall, her eyes showing disbelief. "How is it even possible?" Aelita asked softly. "None of us anticipated it."

Jeremy shook his head slightly. "Viruses change all the time so who's to say that anti-viruses can't change as well?" Jeremy asked softly. "It's remarkable."

Now they were really confused. _"What's going on?"_ Remy asked._ "Is James going to be okay? What about Aiko? Are they both going to be okay?"_

"They're going to be fine." Jeremy replied in amazement.

"_So what's going on?"_ James asked impatiently. _"Tell me!"_

How did one even begin to explain this? "Okay, listen up." Morgan said as she took the headphone away from Jeremy. "James, you are now XANA's number one threat to survival which means he's now pissing his pants scared of you. Aiko, get ready to come home."

Ulrich and Yumi stared at the woman, seeing the pleased look on her face. "For real?" Yumi asked. "How?"

"When the kids are all in one place, we'll explain everything." Jeremy told them as he began devirtualizing the kids. "At least, what we think happened."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

She had been so afraid that she would never get to feel her parents' hugs and kisses again. Aiko felt the tears rolling down her face as her parents held her tightly between them, none of them eager to let go right away. "So what happened exactly?" Odd asked as Morgan fussed over their own children.

"We're not entirely sure but we think that when we made those anti-viruses for Aelita, they managed to mix in with her DNA and since James has half of Aelita's DNA, the anti-virus was passed on to James."

"I thought that wasn't possible." Ulrich protested.

"We didn't think it was possible but apparently it is." Jeremy responded as he cleaned his glasses. "That attack of James' was the anti-virus turned into a vapor similar to mist or fog. How exactly their life points went up while in contact with the anti-virus, I'm not sure."

"Most video games you have an item that restores life points." Morgan offered. "Maybe James is that item?"

While they didn't want to consider their son as some kind of _object_, neither Jeremy nor Aelita could deny what the evidence was presenting them with. "So what now?" Remy asked. "What do we do?"

"I don't know about you guys but I'm voting grabbing the little ones and we all go out for pizza." Morgan called.

"Anchovy craving again?" Odd asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The kid's gonna love fish. I can tell that much already." Morgan grumbled softly.

Laughing in response, the group nodded in agreement. "Pizza sounds perfect." Yumi said softly before kissing her daughter's head. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

Nestling into her mother's arms, Aiko smiled softly as she responded, "I'm glad to be home, Mom. I really am."

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Okay, so cell memory <em>is<em> a theory although I'm not entirely positive it's been proven. If anybody's ever watched "The Eye" or something along those lines then they touch the subject throughout the whole movie which I personally find fascinating. Anyway, let's feed this poor authoress reviews please!


	9. Chapter 9

lostmoonchild: Okay, I'm not feeling to hot (again) so I'm gonna make this one a quickie. Since I'm a horror movie junkie, a few chapters will be horror movie based (no flames please!) and I promised to leave vampires alone. Every other creature of the horror movie world is fair game.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or anything else that is clearly not mine such as any horror movies as well as their respective characters who may or may not be mentioned.

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

"I can't believe you did that! Man, now, and what're we supposed to do?"

Abby couldn't help but feel agitated at her brothers for complaining so loudly. She couldn't help it that the haunted house was beyond boring and that the student council had no real inspiration for horror. "They just got lucky they weren't demanding money to go through or I would have demanded my money back." Abby responded calmly. "That was such crap!"

"You told whoever dressed up as a demon to call you "Mistress" cause you were taking over!" Ricky protested.

"Only because I'm apparently going to hell for liking girls."

"You like guys too!"

"Ah, but that doesn't matter. My soul's fucked." Abby laughed in amusement. "I love idiots. They make life amusing."

Ricky and Remy looked at each other knowing full well that their sister found things like that amusing. They could remember when their sister came out of the figurative closet although they were convinced that half the neighborhood heard that. Abby had shouted it at the top of her lungs before looking smug just to hide her own worry only to look surprised when their mother lightly tapped her on the head with a book and told her to quiet down. "Hadn't you heard me?" Abby demanded. "I'm bi! I like girls! I like guys!"

"I know what 'bisexual' is, Amaya, and I don't really care. You're my baby girl so you may as well get used to the idea that I'm not kicking you out. Now go take out the trash."

Even though they were comfortable with their sister's preferences, the twins knew full well that there were others in the world that thought she was broken and disgusting. Of course if anybody ever stopped to look at the full extent of her horror movie collection then they'd probably begin to wonder if the girl was a sociopath in the making or something.

"I just can't believe you got us kicked out of the school's haunted house." Remy sighed. "The one thing that was actually worth going to."

"If you're gonna dress somebody up as Freddy, you don't put that character anywhere near fire! Throw his ass in a boiler room!"

"The boiler room was off limits."

"He doesn't stay there _all_ the time!" Abby protested before grumbling, "Although I'm thanking the God of Horror Movies for not letting them do the remake. That was a disgrace to all Nightmares. Freddy was a lot of things but a pedophile was _not _one of them."

Knowing better than to argue against her when it came to horror movies, the twins just sighed and half-heartedly listened to their sister's rants.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"_One-One-Two, how can I direct your call?"_

"_There's a huge dog attacking somebody! They're screaming and I think they're hurt badly! Oh God, the dog's coming this way!"_

"_Keep calm, sir. What is your location?"_

"_A park near Kadic school. Please hurry! Aah!"_ Suddenly there was the sound of growling and screams before everything went silent.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Groans left Remy's lips as he answered his phone, listening for a moment before groaning. "It's midnight. XANA is so dead." Remy grumbled as he hung up the phone and threw his pillow at Ricky. "XANA attacks."

Ricky groaned while rolling out of bed, falling onto the floor with a thud. "Abby, XANA." Ricky grumbled as he peeked his head into his sister's room.

A scream reached his ears, jerking the preteen awake causing him to crash into the room. Abby looked at him with a confused look before pausing her movie. "What?" Abby asked.

"XANA. Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"Nah, I was watching mutated monkeys." Abby got up and stretched. "Fare thee well, my love, until we meet again in an hour or so."

She bowed dramatically to her television before grabbing her brother by the scruff of his shirt. "Ack! I'm not gonna run away!" Ricky protested as the three of them left the house.

"You were gonna touch my movie."

When they got to the factory, they saw that Aiko and James were already waiting for them. "Can't XANA attack at a more decent time?" Aiko asked as they went down to the scanners.

Not all of them were night owls like she was so Abby wasn't going to start complaining. Her only relief was that it was a weekend instead of a school day or they'd be falling asleep in class.

They really had no endurance when it came to late nights.

"_The activated tower is in the Desert Region. I don't know what's going on, guys, but there's something weird going on there."_

"XANA isn't exactly sane. Shi either." Remy responded.

Within minutes they were in Lyoko, their eyes wide in disbelief as they looked around. "Holy... It's nighttime here!" Abby exclaimed as excitement surged through her. "James, you have to see this."

The normally serene desert now held the undertones of something else that sent chills down their spines. Abby could feel her gut twisting with excitement as the feeling of being watched began to appear. "XANA's doing a _horror movie_ attack?" Aiko's voice was high-pitched in fear.

"I love this!" Abby shouted happily. "C'mon, let's get going!"

Wondering if the girl was a serial killer in the making, the three preteens followed. No _sane_ person got this excited over potential horror movies being used to attack. Then again, they realized, this was Abby and normal was to never be expected.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

It was a late night and one that would send chills down the spine of any who dared to venture outside. A man in his early fifties swayed softly as he walked into an alleyway deciding to take a shortcut back to his apartment. He stopped when he heard the sound of a bird flapping drew closer before stopping. "What in the world?" The man asked as he squinted his eyes.

Eyes widening in terror at the impending creature, the man let out a bloodcurdling scream just as a dark shadow surrounded him. When it vanished, all that remained was a pool of blood.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"Mommy. Mommy, wake up."

Aelita slowly opened her eyes and stared at her daughter for a moment. "What's wrong, honey?" Aelita asked.

"There's a clown in my room." Ashley responded with a solemn expression.

Immediately the pinkette woke up completely and sat up with a confused look on her face. "A clown?" Aelita repeated.

The girl immediately nodded. "He said his name was Pennywise."

Pennywise . . . Why did that sound familiar? "Jeremy, wake up." Aelita said as she shook her husband. "Somebody's in Ashley's room."

"His name's Pennywise, Mommy. James isn't in his room. I went there first."

Immediately Jeremy got up and grabbed the phone, dialing for the police. As soon as he hung up the phone, the blonde left the room with his wife and daughter following. Within moments the blonde grabbed Aelita's wrist and pulled her down the stairs while Aelita held tightly onto Ashley for dear life.

A scream tore from Ashley's lips as she saw the clown chasing them, his teeth sharp as razors as he chased them. Twisting to grab his daughter from Aelita's arms, Jeremy covered Ashley's eyes as he shut his own eyes tightly to avoid being blinded by the light that exploded from Aelita's body. With the clown still blinded, the three fled the house praying desperately that their son was at the factory already.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: *prepares for incoming flames* Clowns scare the crap out of me (so no sending over the clowns cause I do own a gun and there are swords in the house as well). The next few chapters will have horror movie themes and like I said, I promised to leave the vampires alone. If I hadn't, they wouldn't sparkle. I love "Twilight" but sparkly vampires? They ain't meant to sparkle. Anyway, read and review so my blood thirsty kitten Cuddles (do not be fooled by the name) leaves my poor left hand in one piece.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

lostmoonchild: I had sooo much fun writing this chapter and am currently working on the next one. So I'm moving today so things are gonna be a little chaotic for a short while since I have to adjust to a different time zone after my friend comes to help me move. So here's this week's chapter!

Disclaimer:I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Ten<p>

Aiko could feel her heart racing against her chest as she looked anxiously around the desert, feeling _something_ watching her. "James, is there anything on the screens?" Aiko asked nervously.

"_Nothing pops up. Why?"_

"I feel like something's watching us."

Abby could feel his heart racing with excitement as she scanned the area and could almost see every horror movie dealing directly with a desert playing in her mind. "XANA must not be too smart. I mean, he's making Abby excited." Remy commented.

A scream left Aiko's lips as something with glowing orange eyes charged at them. "It's the mutated monkeys!" Abby shouted excitedly. "Oh my God, yes!"

"_It popped up on screen. Okay, Abby, share your information regarding this monster."_ James said calmly.

"Basically products of the American government's experiments to benefit their soldiers. After a series of failures, the experiment was called an immediate failure but before the test subjects could be destroyed, the monkeys escaped. Carnivorous and fast as hell." Abby began firing at the deformed monkey. "Most notable features are that when it bites a human and the human escapes, the human's eyes turn orange and their baser instincts come out."

"_Okay, guys, let's avoid getting bit."_ James announced. _"We don't know what it'll do to your life points or anything."_

The group twisted so their backs were to each other, the night in Lyoko making it difficult to see. The air seemed to vibrate with anticipation as they could sense the creature coming closer and circling them as if it were a shark. As they tried to hit the monkey, they could hear James talking to somebody. "Who's there, James?" Remy asked.

"_My parents and Ashley. They're trying to get hold of your guys' parents but so far nobody's answering."_

Fear showed in Aiko's eyes as she glanced at her cousins. "You don't think . . . " Aiko trailed off.

"No way in hell! Now focus on what's going on before we get turned into monster chow!" Abby snapped.

With their attacks beginning once again, the group tried to hit the mutated monkey, cheering when they managed to hit it. "Let's get to the tower!" Ricky shouted.

With adrenaline pumping through their veins, the group of warriors fled.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

He had seen a _lot_ of weird things in his life but this was beyond weird! Odd skidded to a stop, feeling his daughter's grip around his neck tighten. Morgan came behind him, her face pale with fear as she held onto their other daughter. "What's in our house, Mommy?" Rose asked with a fearful look in her eyes.

"Daddy, make it go away!" Mary pleaded.

Odd really hated it when his daughters were afraid and he wasn't even entirely sure what was going on. "Did you try to get hold of the kids?" Odd asked as he dodged a flying pan.

"Can't. Whatever's going on is affecting the phones." Morgan replied. "Odd, what's going on? This is like one of Abby's horror movies."

The two adults stared at each other in realization before groaning in response. Neither one had their daughter's memory for horror movies so they couldn't even begin to guess which show this scenario was from. "Okay, Princesses, Mommy and Daddy need you both to try and be brave." Odd told them.

"Yes, Daddy," both girls answered.

Both adults shifted the girls in their arms, their eyes calmed and determined. "One," Odd breathed softly.

"Two," Morgan responded.

"Three!"

The group of four darted across the living room and ducked behind the couch, screams of terror leaving the girls' lips when knives pierced the couch. "My couch!" Morgan shouted, her eyes flashing in irritation.

"Kaji!"

Morgan grumbled in irritation as she stared at the knives poking through the couch. She _liked_ that couch and XANA had to go ahead and wreck it. Oh, if she didn't work out her frustrations through Shi then she was going to move onto XANA and finish up her frustrations on him. "Baka kisama!" Morgan snarled in Japanese.

"Well, you're not going to be happy with breaking the window to get out." Odd commented lightly.

He didn't like the idea of wrecking their house any more than she did but both adults knew they had to get their kids out. "So we go back hits window?" Morgan asked lightly.

"Think you can do it without miscarrying?"

"A mother's body is designed to protect the unborn offspring. I think crashing through a window should fall within the 'will not hurt baby' limits."

Odd nodded before pulling a couple blankets off of the back of the couch, handing one over to his wife. "How come we got blankets?" Mary asked.

"Cause we don't want you or your sister to get hurt. So when we run and hit the window, cover your face in my chest. Same for you, Rose." Odd told them.

Soothing the anxiety she felt, Morgan held her daughter's head close as she and Odd scrambled to their feet, barely dodging the flying forks and knives. With a powerful leap, both parents twisted so their backs were in front before crashing through the window and onto the soft green grass below. Quickly checking to make sure that nothing vital had been hit and that the girls were okay, they began running as fast as they could for their lives.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Never more grateful that their daughter was an only child until they were ready for another, Ulrich and Yumi slipped through their house on high alert. They had tried to get hold of any of their friends and of the children but it seemed as if the phones were all out. "They're okay." Yumi said softly. "They have to be."

Ulrich nodded slightly, his entire body tense as he listened for any sounds that didn't belong. He didn't like the quiet that was practically deafening or the scratching within the walls that would break the silence every so often. If he listened carefully at the right moments, Ulrich swore he could hear a sound that was between a croak and a groan.

Yumi's dark eyes scanned the room carefully searching for anything that she knew was out of place. Her instincts were screaming at her that there was _something_ in her house that wasn't supposed to be there but she couldn't see it.

Suddenly Ulrich's hand shot out next to her and there was a blinding light before he grabbed her wrist. Yumi looked back and watched with a horrified expression as a grotesquely formed creature stumbled toward them. Just what was that? She wanted to say that it was human but no humans moved around like what this creature was doing!

Horror shot through Yumi's body as they were met with more of those grotesque creatures. "Ready, Yumi?" Ulrich asked with a glint in his brown eyes.

Realization showed on the Japanese woman's face as she nodded with determination burning in her own dark eyes. Bracing themselves, the couple began their attacks while steadily working their way toward the door.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: So like I said, I'm in the process of moving so things will be a little chaotic. With any luck I'll have next week's chapter done by Friday so read and review!<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

lostmoonchild: This chapter hurt my brain and I'm sorry if it sounds forced. So I got moved and settled pretty well and just got the call earlier that I have a job! It's part time but we'll see how it affects my updating schedule. Here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

James listened to the various news reports of people being attacked by what was now being assumed as a gang of some kind dressing up in horror movie costumes and attacking various people. There still were no known reasons behind the attacks or even what the victims had in common but investigations were apparently still in the early stages. "James!" The preteen looked behind him and saw his parents with Ashley.

"Mom! Dad! You're okay." Relief was evident on James' face as he slid off the chair and hugged his parents tightly.

"Seems like everybody's making the factory a meeting place." Ulrich commented as he and Yumi climbed down from above. "Where's Odd and Morgan?"

Their faces were all pale, James noted, and Ashley looked terrified as she clung to him. Jeremy pushed up his glasses as he took his place at the computer and began typing. "Okay, kids, you've got me now." Jeremy told them. "We need to hurry up and get this done. Things are getting worse outside."

"_Are my parents here?"_ Aiko asked.

"Yes, they're trying to help calm Ashley down. Morgan and Odd haven't made it yet but they're probably on their way right now."

"_Can't you call them?"_ Remy asked.

"Sorry, kiddo, but phone lines are having some problems. Even cell phones aren't working."

"_I wouldn't use cell phones."_ Abby called. _"I remember reading this one story where a human brain is scrambled using the signals that go from a cell phone to the tower back to the phone and through a person's brain. They went absolutely ballistic!"_

This was just great. Some thousands of cell phones being used on a daily basis with however many of them currently being pressed against someone's ear . . . Jeremy shuddered at the thought. "Remind me to apologize to your mother for letting you watch so many horror movies." Jeremy remarked. "Okay, guys, you need to hurry up and get to the tower so it can be deactivated. Life points are all good so no worries there."

His words were met with various weapons firing and a sound that sounded suspiciously like a scream from an injured animal. _"I got it!"_ Ricky shouted.

"_We've got what we think is a mutated monkey on our end."_ Abby explained.

James nodded slightly as he explained what they had been fighting in Lyoko, his face slightly pale as he looked at the adults. "We're going to be okay, right?" James asked as another news report played in the background.

"Of course! We're not going to let anything happen to you kids." Aelita hugged her son and daughter tightly knowing that nobody would let anything bad happen to them.

"Damn it! Where's Odd and Morgan?" Ulrich asked, worry showing in his brown eyes. "They should have been here by now."

Jeremy's eyes never left the computer as he responded, "You know those two. Wherever there's action, they're going to go to it like a moth to flames."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Odd gritted his teeth as the glass in his back shifted slightly, his dark eyes refusing to show signs of giving up as he watched Morgan manipulate the flames away from the group of people that were clearly afraid. "Get moving!" Morgan shouted as beads of perspiration dotted her forehead.

The group didn't need to be told twice as they ran past the small family, terror reflecting in their eyes. "We're almost there, princesses." Odd said soothingly to his daughters.

Seeing the tears in their eyes made every paternal instinct he had want to make things right but as of now there was little he could do besides get them and his wife to safety. "For the next week, Odd," Morgan informed her husband, "you're cooking. I'm going to stay as far away from fire as I can."

"So no romantic candlelight dinners?"

"When the hell was the last time we had that?"

He didn't know although something told him that they were about due for a romantic dinner for two. As they hurried to the factory trying to avoid getting caught up in the panic and helping whoever needed help, Odd could almost feel his daughter's heart racing against his chest. "This place is scary, Daddy!" Rose protested loudly, her voice echoing throughout the factory.

"I know. Don't worry though. Mommy and I are here and hopefully so are the others." Odd said gently.

"We can't swing down with the girls on us." Morgan told him. "Their arms aren't strong enough even with their legs helping."

Odd released the rope he had been holding, some part of him realizing that she was right. Their daughters just weren't strong enough to support their own weight in their arms. "That's okay. I just _love_ the long way." Odd commented lightly.

If it wasn't for the fact that she knew her husband was being sarcastic and they were both holding their daughters tightly, Morgan would have smacked him. As they carefully worked their way down the old stairs, the sounds of groaning metal filled the factory. "Mommy . . . " Rose whimpered softly. "Are the stairs going to break?"

"Iie." Morgan responded all the while praying the stairs continued to hold their weight.

Managing to keep calm, the family got into the elevator and pressed the button hoping that no other horror movies became a reality.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Just how many of these damnable creatures did XANA decide would be an adequate amount to attack them with? Abby could feel her irritation growing with each mutated monkey that came out of the woodwork before breathing a sigh of relief when there were apparently no more horror movie monsters.

The group quickly darted over to the tower and listened as Jeremy confirmed what they already suspected. No more monsters from XANA but there was an excellent chance of this merely being the calm before the storm. _"I'm going to send Aelita to deactivate the tower."_ Jeremy told them calmly. _"Keep the area secure for as long as you can."_

"Come on, Jeremy! You're talking to the kids that are protecting Earth!" Abby protested with a grin.

"_Yes, and that's almost as scary as the few times Ulrich was forced to go on dates with Sissy."_

The kids laughed when they heard Ulrich protesting loudly in the background. "Okay, guys," Abby said as she drew her weapons. "Let's set up a perimeter."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"You're alive!"

Odd grinned wearily as he and Morgan put the girls down, feeling their small fingers hold on tightly to their clothes. "What happened?" Yumi darted over to her cousin and carefully brushed the shards of glass from her dark hair.

"Something was in the house. We went out through the window." Morgan replied. "Think you can still pick glass out as well as you did bullets?"

Yumi nodded slightly before working on brushing the glass out of Odd's hair. "I think I can handle the both of you." Yumi replied. "The kids are doing well. Aelita's about ready to go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower."

Rose and Mary went over to Ashley and James, their pale faces showing fear. "We're going to be okay, right?" Mary asked softly as she looked at James.

"Of course we are. In about five or ten minutes we'll all go home and this will just be a bad memory." James said soothingly.

The girls nodded slightly before sitting down next to him, watching as Yumi and Ulrich carefully picked shards of glass from their parents' bodies. They could see the pain in their parents eyes as the shards of glass were carefully removed. "Is the baby okay, Mommy?" Rose asked.

"The baby's fine, honey. Mommy's tummy is set up to protect the baby just like when you and Mary as well as the boys were in my tummy." Morgan told them.

"How about Abby?"

"Another mommy's tummy protected Abby but then she came to me and my arms protected her." Morgan explained before looking at Aelita. "Hey, Princess."

"Yes?"

Morgan grinned slightly before answering, "Tell Abby no more horror movies for a while please. I don't think any of us will be able to handle it for a while."

Aelita laughed as she nodded before heading to the elevator. "I'll let her know." Aelita promised just as the elevator door closed.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

She couldn't remember any time when she had seen Lyoko in a nighttime scene or even the look of fear that lingered on the children's faces. "Are they there yet?" Abby asked eagerly, her eyes showing worry.

"They're at the factory. Your parents have some cuts from jumping out a window but otherwise them and your sisters are unharmed." Aelita said soothingly as she moved toward the tower. "Give me a few minutes and we'll go home."

Home. The one place they all wanted to be now more than ever and as the night faded away to daylight, the place they knew they would all soon be.

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: And the horror movie thing is done. So anyway, I'm gonna vanish cause I'm tired and can't go to bed yet cause then I'll be up at whatever unholy time before my alarm goes off at quarter to eight (still an unholy time) for work. Read and review!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

lostmoonchild: Hi, everybody! Okay, so I gotta work today (yay!) and spent last night playing a video game that really messes with your head. I love horror movies and don't get scared easily but this game SCARED THE LIVING HELL OUT OF ME! It's so cool. I'll explain at the end of the chapter for clarification.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" (although mentioned in passing though not by name) so don't sue.

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><p>Chapter Twelve<p>

They had never really spent much time alone since her imprisonment in Lyoko so Aiko was nervous when James asked if she wanted to go out for ice cream. She could almost hear their parents commenting how cute they looked together and her father's automatic protectiveness. "It's okay, right?" James asked as they walked next to each other. "I mean, your cousins aren't going to get all weird now?"

"I don't know." Aiko admitted finally. "They shouldn't get too weird."

At least not any weirder than what they already were. It had been a week since the horror movies had come to life and Aiko had noticed that her oldest cousin had put all of her horror movies in the closet. "They just don't seem that great anymore," Abby told her with a small scowl as she fired up her laptop. "I found a new game anyway that's promising to be the ultimate mind fuck."

What that game was, Aiko didn't know but she knew that Abby had been screaming in surprise or fear at various points. "That's good. I really don't think I'd be able to keep from getting pounded by your cousins." James admitted. "If we all didn't grow up together, I think I'd find them a little scary."

"Yeah. A lot of people do."

The two preteens walked in comfortable silence until they got to the ice cream parlor. "What would you like?" James asked with a small blush.

Aiko's dark eyes scanned the menu for a moment before answering, "Rocky road."

"Vanilla please."

James handed the woman behind the counter the money and both children waited patiently as their ice cream was prepared. "I'm glad you called." Aiko said softly when they got their ice cream and went to their table.

"I'm glad I did too. I mean, I'd rather you didn't go out with Charles for ice cream. He's a jerk." James told her. "He wouldn't get you or what we do. I seriously doubt he even sees past a pretty face."

"I doubt he does too." Aiko responded softly.

The boy hesitated a moment before saying, "Ai, when you were in Lyoko... I did hear you scream for help."

"I know."

"I had nightmares because I could hear you screaming and I wasn't able to go there."

Aiko put her hand on James' hand, staring at him with a calm look in her dark eyes. "It's okay," she reassured him. "I'm home now safe and sound. We survived this far and we're going to beat him."

"I know we are."

"Then don't focus on what's already happened. Let's focus on getting through this together and what's meant to happen will happen."

Nodding slightly in agreement, James grinned slightly. "For what it's worth, you're one tough girl." James said with a grin.

"And you're pretty tough for a nerd."

Laughing, the two dug into their ice cream with only the voraciousness that children could possess.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

In the dark cell that was dimly lit by the hall lights beyond the cell bars, a woman nearing old age sat quietly on her bed. She knew it would be only a matter of time before she was released for parole and that she shouldn't have been surprised that neither of her children chose to have anything to do with her release. They had children now, the voices had told her only a few short months ago, and her daughter was pregnant again. They didn't need to care for a woman whose mind was rotting from the inside out.

"_Ungrateful children. You brought them into this world and taught them the cruelties that came with it."_ A smooth voice whispered in her mind. _"Say the word and I will punish both your son and daughter for abandoning you in this hell."_

"How?"

"_Your son's wife is with child as is your daughter."_

"You'll punish their children?"

"_Ah, you need not worry about what I will do. Say the answer and I will obey. Just remember, neither of your ungrateful children came to plead for you to be released. They didn't even wish to spare an hour of their lives to plea for you to stay put."_

"They didn't."

"_Say it and I shall punish them!"_

With anger burning in her old eyes, the woman nodded slightly. "Punish them. Punish my son and daughter. Punish Sano and Ami for abandoning their names and for abandoning their parents." The woman whispered hatefully.

"_Your wish is my command."_

The only sign she had that the presence had left was a lightness signaling the departure of a heavy feeling she hadn't even realized was there before.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Morgan hummed to herself as she mixed various ingredients together, feeling remotely happy. This was the first morning she hadn't been sick and Odd had taken the children out for a day at the zoo to give her a break from their screaming children. This was officially "Morgan Time" and she was going to use it to make cupcakes for a treat later on. Now she just needed to remember to make the frosting.

Her family loved anything homemade over store bought brands so to have treats made completely from scratch happened once in a while. "Just wait, baby. When you're big enough to eat solid foods instead of Mommy's milk, I'll make you a special cupcake just like I did for your brothers and sisters." Morgan said as she rubbed her lower abdomen. "Even Daddy got a special cupcake before we were married."

Morgan's smile faded when she felt something wrong and immediately darted for her cell phone. "Aniki?" Morgan asked just as it began to ring. "What's wrong?"

"_Imouto..."_ Jason's voice sounded as if he was in shock. _"How soon can you come home?"_

"Aniki, what happened?" She started moving quickly towards the stairs to run up to her and Odd's room.

There was a choked sob as if he was trying to hold himself together and failing. _"They don't know what happened. She was having contractions so we hurried up to get to the hospital since she's not due for another three months and the machines they hooked her up to..."_ Morgan could hear somebody take the phone and a voice telling someone else to take him outside for some air.

"_Kaji, it's me."_

"What happened?"

"_Everything went haywire. By the time they managed to get everything off Sakura, her brain was successfully fried and they had to hurry up and get the baby out. Right now he's hooked up to dozens of machines but his odds aren't looking good."_

Morgan threw some clothes into a suitcase. "I get why I'm wanted now." Morgan told him. "You need to remember that I'm pregnant too, okay? So how badly did Sakura's brain get fried?"

"_...She's dead."_

* * *

><p>lostmoonchild: Ohnoes! Sakura-chan's dead! Okay, so "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" is one helluva scary game. We recorded our reactions and about 75-90% of my facial expression was horror so that's how scary I thought it was. All I can really say is that you hafta play it to understand how scary it is. Anyway, back to the story's commenting, who exactly was the woman talking to? Meh, I know but I'm gonna run away now to finish scaring the living daylights out of myself. Read and review!<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

lostmoonchild: Okay, update story and off to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent so I can scare myself silly. Here's this week's chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko so don't sue.

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><p>Chapter Thirteen<p>

It wasn't often that Odd came home to find his wife missing although he could tell from the sharp edges that her handwriting had taken in the note she left for him that something had happened. His dark eyes widened slightly as he felt the world around him suddenly shift and go out from under his feet. If it weren't for the chair that he had pulled out before reading the letter, Odd knew he would have fallen.

"Dad? What's going on?" Abby's voice seemed distant as Odd kept his eyes on the letter. "Dad? Odd?"

"Something happened in Japan. Your mother's gone to do what she can." Odd responded as he set the paper down.

"What?" There was fear in Abby's voice.

Odd had never realized before how his eldest daughter seemed to be afraid of being helpless. Was it because she had known of the hell her mother had lived in and had felt unable to help? "It's Sakura. Something happened and she's dead. The baby's in critical condition." Odd said finally. "Your mother's gone to help your uncle."

"Are we going to the… you know?"

"Yes." Odd got up and took a deep breath. He had always gotten along with his sister-in-law so to hear that she was now dead was a blow. "Your mother's going to call when she gets to Japan."

Abby nodded and slipped up to her room, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she sat on her bed. Downstairs she could hear the screaming and crying as the younger ones were told the news and knew that sooner or later someone would be in her room. How could this have happened? How could Sakura have died?

She knew her mother and uncle weren't completely sane but they were both so much better than their parents. They practically soared beyond what they had been raised to believe was right and they shone. Now their family had been hit with devastating news and she prayed that despite it, her mother and uncle could continue to shine.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

She hated the broken look in her brother's eyes and was silent as she held him through his tears. Morgan's eyes were soft as she stroked her brother's dark hair and brushed her lips against the dark locks. "Why? What happened?" Jason asked softly. "Was it whatever you guys were fighting then? Did that kill my wife?"

"I don't know." Morgan responded softly.

"I can't take care of him. I can't even bear to look at him." Morgan flinched when she felt her brother's arms tighten painfully around her waist. "I don't want to hurt him."

"Just him or both of them?" She was prepared to take both children if her brother truly was afraid of following in their father's footsteps.

Jason didn't answer for several minutes before burying his face in her belly. "Take them until I can stand proud again." Jason responded.

"I'll need to talk to Odd and let him know."

"I don't care. Take my sons so I can grieve. Keep the baby and let him call that husband of yours 'daddy' for all I care."

The man's eyes widened in surprise when Morgan slapped him. "_You_ are his father and _Sakura_ is his mother!" Morgan snapped at him. "I will take your sons and I will raise them until you can stand on your own two feet. When you can think straight, we'll talk about what's best for that baby."

Fresh tears rolled down his face as Jason felt his sister's words weigh on his shoulders. She'd take his sons and tend to them with no complaints so he could grieve, but she refused to take his youngest child away forever. "Arigato, Imouto-chan." Jason whispered softly. "Arigato."

"You're welcome," Morgan murmured softly.

She may have been a week younger than him but in rare moments like this, the woman knew that she was her brother's rock.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

"_Your son's punishment is going on as of now. His precious wife is dead."_

"And my daughter?"

"_Her punishment will come soon enough."_

"Hurry. Soon I'll be released and I want to see them both broken for what they've done."

"…_Of course."_

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Odd was silent a week later as he stared at the tiny infant that lay in the incubator, seeing dozens of tubes attached to the tiny body. "You're sure?" Odd asked softly.

"Odd, he needs family and my brother isn't in any state to raise either of those boys."

The blonde nodded slightly as he looked at the baby again. His wife called the baby Hayate which apparently meant 'sudden' in Japanese. It was fitting considering nobody was ready for his birth or even for his mother's death. "It'll take time for us to get everything in order." Odd told her.

"Doctors are saying we have a couple of months before he can get out… if he survives. He's strong so I think he will."

The children had yet to see their new cousin but they'd wait to see how he was doing for a while. Neither parent wanted their children to get attached to the baby only to have him die and deal with more grief. "I love you," breathed Odd as he touched his wife's hand. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"You'd keep it together long enough to raise our children. Then you'd break down when you're alone."

It was true and they both knew it. For now, however, they'd focus on how to best help their injured family and keep it together. Taking their nephews so her brother could heal, however, was the best option they knew was presented to them. Gods, they just hoped they knew what they were getting themselves into.

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><p>lostmoonchild: Okay, so me and my roommate went to Walmart last night and there was an incubator sitting against a wall with a doll inside it. I looked at it like "Wha?" then going over this chapter reminded me of that. Read and review!<p> 


	14. I Know I Know

Author's Note

Hey, everybody! I'm fully aware that this is against the rules but at this moment I find myself unable to care. As I'm sure everybody's aware, Fanfiction(dot)net has been going through a story purge for the past few days and sadly one of my stories has been deleted a mere few days before the purge really got going. Petitions have been flying all over the place, whether they be in stories of their own, PMs, Facebook or any other social networking site, or merely through emails. I have signed three of them to date.

Because I don't feel comfortable posting any more chapters for my stories or new stories at this time, I'm going to put my stories and myself on hiatus until further notice. If the site were to put a yuri or yaoi filter in, I assure everybody that I would support that because I know that people don't always want yaoi or yuri and I can respect that. What I can't respect, however, is receiving no warning whatsoever that one of my stories was going to be deleted unless I changed it. I also cannot respect those that would choose to go to the M-rated section of the site and repeatedly report stories for violence or lemons.

For now, however, I have all of my stories backed up and a new penname in the event that this account is deleted. I'm also in the process of locating a secondary fanfiction site despite the fact that I really and truly do not want to leave this one. I have been here for seven years this summer going by the same penname so for me to actually sit down and consider a new name has been beyond excruciating. This is my identity as a writer. This is who I am as a reader.

I don't know if the administrators are actually paying attention but if they are, I hope they understand that within three days it has upset a majority of its fanbase. From my understanding, other authors are making plans as well to locate a new site and some of their readers may follow. I wouldn't be surprised at this point if someone were making up a new fanfiction site right now that has ratings from K all the way up to NC-17.

If my account isn't deleted by the time this has all calmed down, I'll delete the note and post the chapters. If my account is deleted, I have a new email address for fanfiction related things and I also have a new penname. I'll even be sure that some of my friends here know both my email addresses (the new and current ones) and what my penname will be in the event that this is deleted. I'll even have "In Darkness" back up and entirely rewritten since I didn't have it saved when they destroyed it.

So ja ne for now and I hope to be back with this same account shortly. If not… well, I have everybody's names and I'll let you all know individually that I'm back with a new account if you all accept PMs. If not, I'll drop you a line via review.


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